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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25515064">Emerald</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/C4ff3in3/pseuds/C4ff3in3'>C4ff3in3</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>ROYGBIV [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Earth Kingdom (Avatar), Fire Nation (Avatar), Gen, Mentions of Katara - Freeform, Northern Water Tribe, War Story, emerald - Freeform, fire healing, green flames, mentions of Iroh</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 06:15:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,535</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25515064</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/C4ff3in3/pseuds/C4ff3in3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Agni’s scales!” Zuko cried out as he slammed onto the ground. </p><p>Zuko had been attempting to create a fire tornado that could carry him for the better part of 3 hours. But he just couldn’t figure out what he was doing wrong.</p><p>Or</p><p>Zuko gets hurt and discovers new bending skills.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Iroh &amp; Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>ROYGBIV [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1846855</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>275</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This takes place after Canary but before The Boiling Rock. Thanks for reading!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Agni’s scales!” Zuko cried out as he slammed onto the ground. </p><p>Zuko had been attempting to create a fire tornado that could carry him for the better part of 3 hours. But he just couldn’t figure out what he was doing wrong. Something he had noticed in his fights with Aang, was that Aang’s evasiveness caused Zuko to stay in one place in an attempt to hit him. He figured that by being higher up with more fire available he’d be able to land a hit. But every time he attempted to send fire from his tornado to his imaginary attacker, he lost concentration and fell to the ground. But this time, Zuko could tell something was wrong.</p><p>Zuko felt his chest throb whenever he tried to breath and he could tell he’d be covered in bruises the next morning. He also had a cut on his arm from skimming an exposed edge on his way down. He figured he might as well do something about the cuts before Katara could see them. At least that way he could pretend nothing was wrong. He cleaned the cuts with water from a nearby fountain before he realized that all the sewing equipment was with Katara’s belongings. Zuko was at a loss. He knew he needed to patch himself up before the Gaang saw, but he didn’t know how. But then he remembered a story from his lessons in the palace. </p><p>For decades Earth Kingdom colonies terrorized Fire Nation cities. They kidnapped children to discourage ‘rebellious ash makers’ from retaliating and used their warm climate to create food for the Earth Kingdom while the Fire Nation starved. This continued until the Fire Nation decided enough was enough and decided to go to war with the Earth Kingdom. The Earth Kingdom won every battle they fought, and the fire nation was growing weary. They had no food and no allies. Morale was at an all-time low and the men were ready to give up. But General Zo Li refused to give in to the ‘dirt splashers who had been terrorizing their cities for decades’. He encouraged his men to keep fighting, and his battalion became the first to win a battle against the Earth Kingdom. They won many battles after that and they seemed to be winning the war, but then the Earth Kingdom allied themselves with the Northern Water tribe and the tides began to turn. </p><p>The water benders were able to douse their flames and cut soldiers using ice. In the battle of the Western Ridge, General Zo Li had received 100 cuts from water benders but he kept going. He cauterized his wounds as he ran and single-handedly won the battle after his men had been encased in dirt. His efforts gave the Fire Army the motivation it needed to defeat the Earth Kingdom once and for all, and save the children who had been taken.</p><p>Zuko always loved hearing about Zo Li. It was the first story he could remember hearing where he wholeheartedly believed that the Fire Nation was on the right side of history. Zo Li never gave up without a fight.</p><p>As he remembered the General, he realized he could use his fire to burn his cuts closed. He could always tell Katara they were from a training accident form when he was younger.</p><p>Zuko focused on his desire to close the wound as he palmed his arm and felt warmth touch his bicep. But instead of the red flames, he was expecting, he saw green. Zuko never knew fire could be used for healing. Before his trip to the dragons, fire was death. His green flames were undeniable proof that fire was also life. He looked back down at his cut and saw that there were no burn marks, only smooth alabaster skin. Zuko decided he might as well try healing his ribs while he was at it. He took a deep breath and palmed his ribcage with his hands. He thought about how nice it felt to take full deep breaths of the air temples unpolluted air. He thought about how refreshing the air was after practicing his katas. And while he thought about healing, his palms had an emerald glow until he could no longer feel pain when he breathed.</p><p>Zuko couldn’t believe it. He used fire to heal. He couldn’t wait to tell Uncle! </p><p>And at the reminder of Uncle, Zuko vowed to tell him first after apologizing for the way he treated him since his banishment all those years ago.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The first time someone else saw his emerald flames it was an honest mistake. </p><p>Zuko had spent the majority of his time since meeting the masters on the training grounds. It had become a place he could be himself without the promise of death stares from Katara or jokes he didn’t understand from Aang or Sokka. He never had to hide from Toph though.</p><p>He never felt pressured to act differently around Toph. The blind girl’s affectionate shoulder punches and frank demeanor had grown on him. Whenever he wasn’t training he could be found giving her piggyback rides through the temple or watching her beat Haru in earth bending battles. But this morning she was training with Aang. Something about ‘knocking the twinkle toes out of him’. Whatever that meant.</p><p>So he chose to do some exploring before it was his turn to train Aang. He decided he would try to find some water springs on the side of the mountain.</p><p>Zuko had been following a stream, hoping it would lead to a pool for the better part of an hour when he heard a noise. He could have sworn it was Momo, but that couldn’t be right. Momo was eating Sokka’s snacks the last he saw him. As he got closer to the sound he realized that it was Momo and he was caught in a trap they set the day before. </p><p>His tail was bent at an odd angle and he was crying. Zuko’s heart broke a little at the sight. For all Zuko’s awkwardness with people, animals had always been there for him. The bullfrog that listened to his speech his first night at the temple was a testament to that. Zuko considered carrying him back to camp so Katara could heal him, but looking into his big green eyes he knew he couldn’t let Momo suffer for that long.</p><p>Zuko knelt on the ground and started crawling slowly over to Momo. </p><p>“Hey, little buddy” he crooned. He reached out for his tail and shushed him slightly when he flinched.</p><p>“I’m here to help. It’s alright Momo” he said while petting the fur on his head. When Momo finally relaxed, he palmed the Lemurs tail and began thinking about healing his tail. He thought about the warmth of healing his ribs rather than the desperation he felt while cauterizing his cuts.</p><p>His hands began glowing a familiar green and Momo’s tail lost the unnatural look it had gained stuck in the track.</p><p>“There you go,” he whispered while picking up the Lemur. Momo curled into Zuko’s chest and he hummed to keep the newly healed Lemur calm. He turned around to walk back towards camp when he suddenly noticed Sokka standing behind a tree.</p><p>“How long have you been there?” Zuko asked, resigned. The group was already suspicious of Zuko and his newly discovered firebending definitely wasn’t helping him develop trust.</p><p>“Since you started crawling.” He answered. Zuko blushed at the thought. Not only had Sokka seen him crawling and talking to a lemur, but he realized he was still swaddling Momo like a child.</p><p>“I knew you could make blue fire, but since when could you make green?” he asked curiously.</p><p>“I broke a rib the other day and didn’t want to bother Katara. I figured I’d try healing it myself and it worked.” He said honestly. The two boys stared at each other for a moment before they began walking back up the mountain.</p><p>“What were you even doing that far from camp?” Zuko wondered.</p><p>“I was looking for Momo. He stole my moon peaches.” Sokka said simply as if that explained everything. But the longer he thought about it, the more it made sense that Sokka would hike down a mountain looking for Momo instead of just picking more peaches. They continued to walk up the mountain in silence until he saw the training ground again.</p><p>“Can you not tell anyone about this?” Zuko asked quietly. Sokka looked over at Zuko who was still holding Momo.</p><p>“Why not?” he asked, confused. “What’s wrong with healing?”</p><p>“Nothings wrong… I just don’t want to give the group another reason to look at me differently.” He said.</p><p>“You mean give Katara a reason to look at you differently.” Sokka inferred correctly. Zuko nodded.</p><p>“She wouldn’t look at you differently for being able to heal. She’d probably be happy there was someone else to heal Aang.” Sokka pointed out.</p><p>“She’d probably say I didn’t trust her abilities as a healer,” Zuko said in response. And after considering the hate Katara seemed to have of Zuko, Sokka agreed to stay quiet about his emerald flames.</p>
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